


As a Bird Loves the Sky

by reeby10



Category: Princess Bride (1987)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Friends to Lovers, Inigo is a little slow on the uptake, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-14 08:17:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7161989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/pseuds/reeby10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He couldn’t help but stare at the other man for a few long moments, wondering at the way that just being near him like this made his heart beat faster and his soul soar with happiness. Even after thinking about this for so many weeks, sitting together like this, knowing what he was about to do, made it feel like his feelings were blooming anew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As a Bird Loves the Sky

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thedevilchicken](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedevilchicken/gifts).



> Gift for thedevilchicken for My Old Fandom 2016! I hope this isn't too purple prose-y for you, I've been in a bit of an odd writing style lately. Enjoy :)
> 
> This was my first Princess Bride fic, and it was a bit of a challenge, but I really enjoyed writing Inigo. I should write him and Fezzik more often, it reminded me a lot of writing Gimli/Legolas...
> 
> Thanks to ereshai for the beta!

Inigo wasn’t sure how it happened, but one day he woke up and realized he was in love.

It had to have been a long time coming, months if not years, but somehow his view of Fezzik had changed from that of a coworker to a friend to something even stronger and deeper. He’d never given much thought to things of the romantic nature, vengeance had always been his prime concern. But now, with that quest completed, he could turn his mind toward those kinds of thoughts.

Being the new Dread Pirate Roberts gave him a surprising amount of free time. It had been Westley’s idea for him to take on the role since Westley was more interested in staying with Buttercup than returning to pirating, but Inigo honestly hadn’t really considered the actualities of a pirate’s life when he accepted. There was the obvious, of course, but most of the time was spent just sailing the seas, headed for their next destination. It gave him a lot of time to grow his friendship with Fezzik.

The clatter of boots on wood signalled the other men coming up from below decks to take over for the few men who watched the ship overnight. A louder, slower pair of feet overtook the other noises for a moment and Inigo had to smile, recognizing the distinctive gait of his friend. He knew then that his sudden realization at waking wasn’t just the vestiges of sleep or a dream, but was something very real. Now he just had to figure out what to do about it.

Inigo had always been more prone to dwelling on things, mulling issues over before he came to a decision. Once the decision was made, he would follow through with single minded intensity, not letting anything get in his way or distract him. It had been that way with Count Rugen, the Six-Fingered Man, and now Inigo supposed he had another sort of quest to consume him.

It wouldn’t do to make hasty decisions, especially so early in the morning, so Inigo went about his morning routine. He emerged from his cabin several minutes later, squinting into the already bright sunlight and breathing deeply of the salty sea air. His men were already going about their jobs, and he wandered among them, offering a word here or pat on the back there.

He found Fezzik mopping the upper deck, whistling tunelessly. The sound made his heart swell a little, and he didn’t hide the broad smile it brought on. He had never before this moment been so happy that he had agreed to be the new Dread Pirate Roberts.

“Fezzik, my friend, how are you this morning?” he asked, leaning on a nearby railing.

Fezzik paused in his mopping, smiling when he looked up to see who had addressed him. “Very well, Inigo,” he replied, rumbling voice sounding almost like the swells of the waves crashing against their ship. “And you?”

“Very well indeed.”

He watched for a few minutes as Fezzik returned to his mopping, mind turning over his options. It was hard to know what to do about his newly realized amorous feelings, if only because they weren’t something he’d ever concerned himself with before. He was finding himself a little out of his element with regards to what direction to take.

There was also the consideration of determining if Fezzik returned his feelings, but as that wasn’t something he could control, he decided to put those thoughts aside for the moment. There were other things he could better spend his time thinking about, and he did have a ship to run as well.

He pushed off from the railing as a crewman called his name, waving for him to check the rigging on the main mast. There would be plenty of time for making decisions.

***

The following days and weeks didn’t pass much differently than normal. The only difference that Inigo could see was that he felt like he was so much more aware of Fezzik all the time. Every heavy footstep, every hint of booming laughter, had him turning toward the source with a small, content smile.

He didn’t think it was enough that anyone else on the crew had noticed his new behavior, but he noticed. It had him thinking late into the night, listening to the quiet slap of waves on the ship in his candlelit quarters. He weighed all the possibilities carefully, conscious of how much his decision could change things, whichever way things went in the end.

Eventually, though, he had to admit that there was only really one path for him, only one decision he could possibly make. He had trained and fought and searched for twenty years out of love for his father, he would do the same and more out of love for Fezzik. And in his mind, it was only right that Fezzik knew that.

Inigo had decided to invite Fezzik back to his cabin that night and discuss things. As such, he told the crew he would be unavailable except for emergencies for the rest of the day, and closed himself in his quarters to clean and prepare. Fezzik had been to his room many times before for late night drinking and friendly conversation, but somehow this felt different, more important. He wanted to do it right.

Just an hour into his mad cleaning frenzy, dirty clothing still scattered at the base of his bed and open books still covering his desk, there was a heavy, booming knock on his door. Inigo froze in place for a moment, surprised and a little dismayed that his plan was about to go completely out the window when he realized there was only one person on board the ship that it could be.

“Fezzik? What are you doing here?” he asked as he opened the door. Even still, he gestured for Fezzik to come in, smiling when the much taller man had to duck through the doorway.

“I was worried,” Fezzik replied, sounding so terribly sincere that Inigo felt his heart clench a little in his chest. “You do not usually stay in your cabin during the day. I thought something might be wrong and I wanted to help.”

“Oh.”

“Was that not the right thing to do?” Fezzik asked, frowning deeply.

Inigo shook his head, a smile of fondness and gratitude growing on his face. “No, no, my friend,” he said. “I was just surprised. I do have something I wanted to speak with about though, if you’d sit with me awhile.”

They moved over to Inigo’s desk and he swept a few things to the floor to leave them room to sit. He couldn’t help but stare at the other man for a few long moments, wondering at the way that just being near him like this made his heart beat faster and his soul soar with happiness. Even after thinking about this for so many weeks, sitting together like this, knowing what he was about to do, made it feel like his feelings were blooming anew.

“What did you want to talk about, Inigo?” Fezzik asked, breaking the silence with renewed worry in his voice.

“Nothing bad,” Inigo said quickly, wanting to reassure him. He could only hope that what he said was the truth for them both, since he could only know his own feelings at this point. “I have just been thinking, and there is something I wished to tell you.”

Fezzik nodded, the worry draining out of him in an instant. It was one of the things Inigo loved about him. “What is it?”

“I love you.”

The words, to Inigo, seemed to echo in the room as Fezzik stared at him for a moment before his face morphed into a confused frown. Every negative possibility of Inigo’s declaration seemed to assail him at once, each more terrible than the last. He did not want to lose this friendship or anything else, but the longer the silence dragged on, the more it felt like his heart was being ripped out.

“I love you, too,” Fezzik finally said. “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“You…” Inigo began faintly, then shook his head, clearing his throat. “I do not mean I love you as just a friend,” he started again, more forcefully, willing Fezzik to understand him. “I love you as the ocean loves the moon, as the grass loves the sun, as a bird loves the sky. I love you as a lover.”

Fezzik tilted his head, brows still knit together in confusion. “And I, you,” he rumbled. “Is that why you have been acting so strange?”

Inigo stared at the other man, flabbergasted. This was not the way he’d thought this would go, not in the wildest scenario he had concocted. In a strange way, though, it made sense. They’d been together for a long time now, worked together and fought together and protected each other. What was that if not love?

“I have only recently realized that I loved you, but you…” Inigo finally said with a small laugh that anyone else would have said bordered on hysterical. “How long have you known you loved me?”

Fezzik shrugged. “Since Vizzini, I knew that I would want no one else beside me but you,” he said, a fond smile growing on his broad face. “So I guess it was then.”

“I am a fool, then,” Inigo said, but he couldn’t hold back an equally fond smile as his heart nearly burst with happiness at hearing that his love was reciprocated more fully than he ever could have imagined.

“Maybe we are both fools,” Fezzik replied kindly, and Inigo chuckled, shaking his head. “What do we do now, Inigo?”

“Now,” Inigo said, rising from his chair. He stepped forward until he stood between Fezzik’s legs, their height disparity practically erased with Fezzik still seated. “Now I would like to kiss you.”

And so he did.

**Author's Note:**

> Concrit welcome. If you like my fic, feel free to come hit me up [on tumblr](http://voldiebuns.tumblr.com/)!


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